A 51-year-old van driver left early morning lone female walkers scared and disgusted by winding down his windows and making sexual gestures towards them.
One of Sylwester Grzymiszewski’s victims told a trial he drove “very slowly” next to her and made an obscene gesture with his fingers and tongue.
The woman, in her late 20s, said on a previous occasion the same man had shouted out, “hey, sexy” from the van.
The trial at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court also heard from a second woman, in her late 30s, who described Grzymiszewski passing her with the window half-down and gesticulating with his fingers and tongue.
The three incidents all happened early in the morning on the same road in Methil, on separate occasions, between January 1 and March 26 2021.
Asked by prosecutor Andrew Brown how she felt about the incident, the woman in her 30s said: “A woman should not have to see that kind of thing while she is walking to her work – it’s disgusting.”
First target
The trial heard police used road cameras to get the van registration and the women later picked out Grzymiszewski from identity parades.
The woman in her 30s said on the occasion she was targeted it was about 6.30am and the van was driving towards her as she walked to work.
“He made a gesture with his tongue and fingers at the mouth.
“The gesture lasted a few seconds, long enough for me to understand what he had done.
“I just felt it was not needed, it was crude.
“The way he done the gesture with his tongue would indicate something disgusting.
“I just kept walking towards my place of work and said to work colleagues what I witnessed.”
Second victim
The other woman told the court she felt “scared” after the two occasions she was abused, both at around 7.30am.
Speaking of the second incident involving the sexual gesture, she said: “I just kind of walked quite fast away because I felt scared.
“I was scared just because it was myself and I was walking to work and it was not fully lit – and it was a long road – in case anything else happened.”
She said she had seen the man “for five to ten seconds, maybe” and described him driving “very slowly” next to her.
She said she was: “More scared in case anything else happened, or something else happened to someone else.
“He was doing it to girls walking by themselves.”
Smoking and poor lighting claims
In cross examination, Grzymiszewski’s defence lawyer suggested to the women her client was merely smoking as he passed them in his van and that they had previously voiced unhappiness about him throwing cigarette butts out the window.
The women strongly denied this.
The solicitor also highlighted the lighting was poor.
Grzymiszewski, of Niddrie Mains Drive, Edinburgh, was assisted by a Polish interpreter.
Defence claims dismissed
Sheriff Iain Nicol found the accused guilty of two charges of behaving in a threatening or abusive manner.
He said: “They were both able to describe the accused and what he was wearing.
“Both described very similarly the gestures which he made.
“Both interpreted these gestures to be of a sexual nature.
“It’s telling, notwithstanding the accused passed them in his van in limited daylight, they were both able to identify the accused at VIPER parades (police line-ups).”
Sheriff Nicol said the fact there were two charges and three separate incidents – described by the prosecution as “persistent and escalating” behaviour – left him with no doubt there was a substantial sexual element.
He adjourned sentencing until September 26 to obtain background reports and placed Grzymiszewski on the Sex Offenders Register.
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